Purse



(No Model.)

B. L. PRiGKETT.

PURSE.

Patented Jan. 11, 1898.

wiigessas UNITED STATES PATENT Fries.

EDWIN L. PRICKETT, OE MOUNT HOLLY, NEVY JERSEY.

PuRsE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 597,325, dated January 1 1, 1898.

Application filed July 24, 1897. $erial No. 645,839. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWIN L. PRICKETT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Mount Holly, in the county of Burlington and State of New Jersey, have invented a new and useful Purse,of which the following is a specification.

My invention 'relates to improvements in purses especially adapted for carrying coin, although equally useful for holding other articles; and the object that I have in view is to provide an improved purse the contents of which may be readily and quickly ascertained withoutopening it for inspection of its contents.

"With the ordinary construction of purses made of leather and similar substances it is necessary to open the purse before the contents of the same can be inspected. This involves considerable time and trouble when a person carries dollars, half-dollars, quarters, dimes, half-dimes, nickels, or pennies,or other money or article, because it is necessary to open the purse to determine exactly what change is contained therein. In many instances a person is obliged to hunt through the contents of the purse for a coin which is not contained among the coins therein, and ofttimes the owner dumps or pours the contents of the purse into the hand for the purpose of more conveniently inspecting the coins and selecting the proper coin he desires to pay out. This emptying of the contents of the purse for the purpose of inspection is.

very objectionable on account of the liability of losing one or more coins, and, taken altogether, ordinary leather purses and purses of similar material are open to several objections which it is the purpose of my invention to overcome.

To the accomplishment of the objects hereinbefore stated my invention consists in the construction and arrangement of parts forming an improved purse, as will be hereinafter fully described and claimed.

To enable others to more readily understand my invention, I have illustrated the preferred embodiment thereof in the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of a purse embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a View in perspective, showing the same opened or distended. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view through the purse in its opened position, (shown by Fig. 2,) and Fig. 4t is a sectional View of the purse in its closed position, as indicated by Fig. 1. Fig 5 is a sectional view showing a tapered form of the gusset.

Like numerals of reference denote corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawlugs.

In the embodiment of my invention illustrated by the accompanying drawings the purse is constructed to provide a single pocket or receptacle closed by a foldable flap. The purse consists of the front wall or side 1, the rear wall or back 2, a flap 3, a bellowslike connection-4 between the front and back, ahinge-web 5, which unites the flap to the back 2, and a suitable fastener 6 to detachably connect the flap to the front 1 of the purse.

In my purse I construct the front, back, and flap of a flexible and transparent or translucent material, all united or joined together substantially as herein indicated, whereby I am able to produce a purse having the highlydesirable property of permitting inspection of its contents without the necessity of taking the time and trouble to open the purse or empty its contents.

The material which I have found well adapted for the purposes of my invention is celluloid. This material possesses the desirable properties of transparency or translucency, flexibility, and comparative durability or wear, and it is also of such a nature that it can be sewed or otherwise united to the bellows-like connection and the hinge-web manent manner. I would have it understood,

however, that I do not restrict myself to the employment of this material in the manufacture of purses, because I am aware that other materials can be substituted therefor without departing from the principle of my invention.

The walls and flap of the purse are cut or stamped from a sheet of the flexible transparent material to the proper size and shape. I prefer to make the front and back 1 and 2 of corresponding size and shape, except that the top edge of the front may have a slight concave curvature, as indicated by Fig. 2, and

the flap 3 is made of a size and shape to partially cover thefront 1 when it is folded over the same to close the purse, one edge of the flap being straight, preferably, to enable the hinge-web 5 to be properly and easily attached thereto.

The front 1 of the purse has its edges reinforced by a binding 7, which extends continuously around the same and which is stitched or otherwise united to said front. The flap 3 and the back 2 of the purseare joined together bya transverse hinge-web 5, of leather or other appropriate material, and this hinge-web is stitched or otherwise-united to the adjacent straight edges of the back and the flap to allow sufficient space in said hingeweb to provide for the proper opening. and closing of the flap. Theedgesof the flap-and the back, as well as the end. edges of the hinge-web, are reinforced by a continuous binding, 8, which extends all the way around the edges of said back, the flap, and across the ends of the hinge-web. This continuous binding is also stitched or otherwise united to the back, flap, and hinge-web, and it is arrangedto inclose the edges'of said partsto protect them fromv chafing due to the wear of the purse while it is carried in the pocket. The employment of these bindings gives a neat and finished appearance to the purse, and they also protect the flexible transparent material from wear.

The bellows-like connection or the gusset 4: is arranged between the front and back of the purse to connect the parts together and provide a means whereby the purse maybe expanded or distended to contain more or less coin without straining or injuring the connection between the front and back. This gusset 4 consists of a strip or length of folded, or creased leather or other pliable material, which is adjusted between the front and; back,

at the sideedges thereof, and the edges of the,

gusset are fitted between the bindings and the front and back, to be united therewith by the stitches which fasten the bindings to. the front and back, all as will be readily understood. I construct this bellows-like gusset of uniform width throughout the length thereof, 5

and said gusset extends continuously around the: edges of the front and back of the purse. Such gusset. thus maintains the frontv and back .in uniform parallel relation to each other, because the gusset is of uniform width and, extends around the closed edges'of the purse from side to side of the open end of said purse.

Thedescribed construction of the gusset to detachably attach the flap to the front in a mannerto avoid interfering with the view of the contents of the purse. In the drawings I have shown the fastener as of that style known to the art as the ball-and-socket fastener, in which one member is attached to the front 1 of the purse, whilethe other member is attached to the fiap near the edge thereof; .but I would have it understood that I do not restrict myself to the employment of this particular style of fastener, as other kinds of fasteners may be substituted therefor.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the drawings, it will be evident that I have provided animproved purse which from the nature of its walls and flaps enables the owner to readilyinspect the contents of the purse without opening-the flap or emptying the coinintorhis hand. The trans parent walls and flap expose to view'the contentsof the purse, and the uniting medium for the various parts are so arranged or assembled that they do not obstruct the view of theinterior or the contents of the purse. Atthe same-time the flap-can be opened with ease and facility ,toprovidezfor access to the interior of the purse,andit may be securely closed andfastened to prevent escape of the coin or other article in the pocket. The parts of the purse subject to wear are all protected by thebindings and the gusset, and the purse presentsa neat and finished appearance. It is a very useful and convenient device of the 1 class torwhichit relates, inthati-t can be car- ,ried in the pocket with comparative, safety,

being very compact and flexible, and the device is of such simple constructionlthat it can be manufactured and sold for a comparatively 2 Itis evident that the size and, form of the purse maybe varied, and that gussets of different sizes may be used to: give the desired lcapacity to thedevice. In lieu of a leather 1 gusset. and the pliable bindings I may employ a purserframe or a metal framesuchas is now 5 used on leatherp u rses 5 but these changes are such as will readily suggest themselves to a ,skilled mechanic.

In the construction shown by Figs. 1 tot,

inclusive, I have shown the gusset or bellows connection, of uniform width; but this is not 1material, asI may makethegusset of the-ta- ;pering formshown by Fig, 5 in order to permit the mouth of. the purse to-be opened quite wide to facilitate the removal of the contents of the purse.

Havingfully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters ,Patent, is-' As a new article of manufacture, a purse comprising the front, back and flap of transparent, flexible material,a bellows-shaped gusset of uniform width extendingconti-nuously aro und, theside and bottom edges of the front and back and united thereto, a transverse hinge-web united to the gusset at the back and to one edge of the flap, and a fastener for eonfining the free edge of the flap to the my own I have hereto affixed my signature in front; said gusset and the hinge-web being the presence of two Witnesses. joined to the front, back and flap to ex ose j y the same and permit a practically ufiob- IN PRIORETT' 5 structed View of the contents of the purse, Witnesses:

substantially as described. J. L; JAMISON,

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as 1 W. H. MASON, 3d. 

